Hello ASP team! I am excited to be writing about the training we recently held at YYC. The team at YYC has always met our contractual requirements concerning annually recertifying guards to continue working their posts. However, after careful thought, we were able to craft a program that reviewed the critical materials required while also allowing all classifications to see what each other is responsible to complete on shift.

With the help of our National Training Manager, Mr. David Ramlagan, we were able to inject some laughter and excitement with the Kahoot quizzes. The overwhelmingly positive feedback suggests that it was a big hit, and as such, we will bring it into all future training — new hire, recurrent or specialized.

These mixed classes were also a terrific way for the ASP family to reconnect after a trying period where we had to isolate, distance, and delay in-person training.

Our participants were all smiles when they got to engage with the content alongside peers they have not seen in months or more. It was not just the value of the information that was taken away from the classes.

David also supplied our site with enough tablets to move the training paperwork, and paperwork of any sort, to a digital format. Over the coming weeks, we will be moving whatever we can online so that the company or client can access necessary information for any staff member in one place: audits, training records, etc.

It is going to be a colossal leap forward in the efficiency of our admin and audit processes. I know that our supervisor team are very excited to cut the time of the audits down by at least half with our new formats.

Lastly, I would like to give a shout out to some of our allstars from the past quarter:

• Lakhveer Sandhu – you stood up against some lessthan-pleased employees at the access point and did not let them cause a breach. Keep up that great work!
• To all of you who stepped up to take overtime shifts while we onboarded new hires – we are enormously proud of the teamwork we have seen over the past months!

Until next time ASP, take care out there!

Unsung Heroes

Who is an unsung hero? “One who does great deeds but receives little or no recognition for them.” I’d like to recognize a few of our staff whose recent actions should be recognized in this category.

Recently, ASP Terminal Patroller Kanchan Sarin was assigned Security 3 near gate 52. Prior to a medical call being dispatched from Operations, Kanchan saw a Calgary Police Service (CPS) Officer assisting a passenger in medical distress. Kanchan was proactive and started to assist immediately by setting up a privacy screen, and she began redirecting pedestrian traffic prior to a request from SOC/AOC Operations. Good job and well-done Kanchan!

Being placed in a difficult situation is part of a patroller’s everyday routine. One of our Supervisors was recently placed in this situation and handled it with grace and poise. ASP Supervisor Taranjit Sidhu was on her airside/groundside patrol part of her shift when she was dispatched to the Terminal Arrivals area that was congested due to a high volume of vehicles awaiting arriving passengers and Taxi’s. Other agencies were dispatched to the scene, however, the problem worsened.

The arrivals level was blocked, and vehicles were no longer moving which resulted in a safety concern. Taranjit arrived on scene and took control by moving vehicles and clearing the entire area. Our operations team watched and applauded her for her efforts, acknowledging her with a job well done over the radio! Well done, Taranjit.

Post and Hiring Update

With the completion of a three-month trial by CATSA at NPS-B (Non-Passenger Screening – Post ‘Bravo’) and a reopening of NPS-A (Non-Passenger Screening – Post ‘Alpha’) these posts have now returned and are in operation with our ASP Guards. During the closure of these posts, we were able to complete an aggressive job fair and onboarding of new employees to increase our staffing requirements overall.

ASP is thrilled to announce that more employees have received an Eye on Safety Award nomination from the GTAA. The GTAA Eye on Safety Awards acknowledge and celebrate a culture of safety and security at Toronto Pearson International Airport. The following ASP employees were recently nominated:

Ahmad Jawad Akbari

“The ASP guard Ahmad was at his duty post at check-in aisle 2 this evening when a young child, approximately 5 years old, approached him to say that he lost his parents. Ahmad comforted the child, tried to get information and called the AOC. PRP attended, and Ahmad ran around the Terminal looking for his parents. The child was very comfortable with Ahmad and his comforting demeanor. Between PRP, Ahmad and myself, the parents were found approximately 30 minutes later. Ahmad also found a few mini aircrafts and ensured both the child and his brother were comforted after this scary moment for the family.” – GTAA Manager of Operations.

Mohammad Alla and Ahmad Jawad Akbari

On March 8, 2022, both Mohammed Alla and Ahmad Akbari came across an individual experiencing a medical emergency. Both remained calm and immediately notified all the required parties. They remained in the area and proceeded to do crowd control and diversion so the area would stay clear until the responders arrived. The GTAA and A.S.P. Inc. extend their appreciation to Mohammed and Ahmad for their outstanding contribution to safety and security, and for going above and beyond their dayto-day duties to keep Toronto Pearson International Airport safe.

YSB was a beehive of activity through the month of May. The airport saw a marked increase in the number of daily flights from all airlines and a notable increase in passenger counts.

Throughout this busy period ASP also managed to increase its staffing levels with the addition of four new guard members. Thanks mainly to the efforts of Nadia Onorato and her recruitment team as well as Sarah Jessop and the HR team.

On Friday May 27, 2022, YSB opened the terminal to non-passengers and allowed family and friends into the airport for the first time in over two years. On Tuesday May 31, 2022, YSB conducted their mandated mock disaster exercise. A simulated airline crash and an active armed passenger were the focus of the exercise. ASP Security participated with a record attendance of seven guards and two supervisors.

Senior YSB staff reported that the ASP Security team carried out all emergency response procedures with a high degree of efficiency and professionalism. ASP security staff at YSB want to wish all management and staff a pleasant and safe summer season.